Road-crossing signal



c. H. DAY ROAD CROSSING SIGNAL March 17, 1925 Filed Nov. 28, 1923 Patented Mar. 17, 1925 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. DAY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ROAD-CROSSING SIGNAL.

Application filed November To all whom, it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHARLES Til/DAY, a. citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Crossing Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety signals used at crossings of railroads and country roads or streets and the object is to provide an effective device of said kind whereby vehicles and pedestrians who are about to cross a railway track may duly and timely be signaled the approach, position and passing of trains.

In the accompanying drawing;

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a railway track and its bed crossed by a drive road and provided with my signal device and the electric wiring shown mainly in diagram.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged portion of Fig. 2 showing one oi.il1e switch boxes in section.

Fig. l is a modification of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, 5 designates a roadway crossed by a railroad of which only a single track is shown and comprises a pair of rails 7 shown as secured on ties 8.

Near one side of the roadway 5 and suitably spaced from the track I put up a post- 9 and a similar post 9 near the other side of the road 5 and the track. Said posts and theirequipments being alike a description of one will answer for both.

P I P in Fig. 1 indicate track portions each hundreds of feet long, broken away for want of space on the drawing.

Each post is firmly secured in the ground or to an extra long tie as 8. Secured on each postis a box 10 containing a suitable electric battery 11, unless some live wire is available instead of a local battery.

Upon the top of the post I mount a box 12 which is oblong in the direction of the track. The sides and end of the box are transparent and within the box are mounted a row of electric lamps A, B, C, D, E and F of which the latter is nearest to the roadway 5 and is extra large and gives a red light. All the lamps in the same box are connected to a wire Iii-14 extending to the negative pole of the battery. Each lamp also has a Wire A, B C D E or F each 28, 1923. Serial No. 67mm.

extending to a switch box 15 mounted on a special block lfi secured in the road bed about half way between a pair of ties the distance between the switch boxes may be several hundred feet.

Each switch box, as best shown in Fig. 3, hasa push button 17 with insulation 18 for the rail to pressdown upon as often as the rail is sprung downward by a car wheel as will presently be further described.

The first switch is placed about four hundred feet away from the street or driveway 5, and the otherswitches maybe placed a similar distance from each other. Each switch has a wire 19 leading to a. comparatively long wire 20 extending to the positive pole of the battery (or to either pole not occupiedby the wire 14).

Each switch comprises a metal box 21 secured by nails or like means 22 upon its block 15. In said box or inclosure is pivoted at 23 a lever 24 having a short arm 25 rigidly fixed to the push button 17 as in Fig. 3, or pivoted as at 26 in Fig. 4 and a longer and resilient weighted arm 27 arranged to swing upward and yieldingly form contact a contact port 28 from which wire 1920 may extend to the battery while one of the wires A B C etc. connects lever 27 with one of its lamps. I

The arrangement just described is in Fi 4 so modified that the lever 24 is fulcrumed in a bracket 29 secured by insulation 30, and post 28 stands vertically. The arrows in Figs. 3 and 4 may point either way according to how the battery is connected in the circuit. The main advantage in Fig. i is that the press button moves more vertically than in Fig. 3.

In the operation 01 the device, when a train passes over the rails and causes the well known wave motion between the ties the rail above the switch .button will be sprung downwardly by each passing Wheel and although thevertical vibration may be but slight the long arm 23 of the switch lever increases the motion and closes the switch. In some cases the closing might be too hard but this is provided for by the' resiliency of the. arm 23.

In this manner a train approaching the roadway 5 will first cause the lamp A to light up and flutter, then lamps B, O, D and E likewise in succession as a warning to travelers 011 the road 5, to be careful if crossing the track and when the train is as near as about four hundred feet it willcause the large, red'light at F to shineand flutter as a sharp warning that the train is so near that no one should risk crossing the track no matter how carefully until the train has passed the crossing.

If the driver or pedestrian on road 5 can not see the train because of hills or woods he can. still see by the lamps in the signal that a trainis-near and he can also see iiiwhich-direction it moves, since if it is moving'away from the driveway the light nearest thereto will go out and then the next and next light further away, While if the trainis approachingthe lighted lamps will be increasing innumbers. It-will be understood that the signal arrangement at either side of the road Usignals as to atrain approaching road 5 and the arrangement at the other side of road 5 signals the=departure of trains away from the road. railway hastwo tracks for trains to runin opposite directions, then each track should haveall the electric switches under one of" itsrails', but the=same=two posts with lamps,

as described, will answer tor the double If the I tracked road. If: so desiredaudible signal devices may also :be OPGI'atQCl lH connection with the lighting of the lamps, but as audible signals are not broadly new I will not describe or tryto claim them.

lamp at the end of -the row last-to 'be passed bythe trainbeing larger than the other. lampsand of a SPQ'Cl'flil color, a source of electricity, 1 aseries of switches spaced along the road bed and adapted to be operated by a passing train, and circuit wires connectingthe switches with the lamps in such:

a manner that-the moving train causesthe lighting of the lamps-successively in the direction the 1 train is moving;

1n testimony whereof- I at'fi'x my signature;

CHARLES I H. "D A Y. 

